I built this as a bit of a graphic sidebar to accompany Alex Stuckey’s story for part one of the Houston Chronicle’s 11-part series on the anniversary of the first moon landing. Having spent a decade in Hampton Roads and having been to NASA’s Langley Center a number of times, I’m familiar with one of the moon shot’s most important behind-the-scenes characters: John Houbolt — the man who did the math on the plan NASA had in place in 1962 for fulfilling JFK’s promise to get to the moon and said: Nope. Ain’t gonna work. And then proposed a brilliant idea that, despite pressure from his bosses, worked. My former colleagues at the Chronicle were kind enough to hear me out and then make room for this big piece. I kept it as simple as I could.
MARCH 10, 2019